Jon Stewart Taking Leave From ‘Daily Show’ to Direct His First Movie

Jon Stewart may be one of the hardest working men on television, but it looks like he's about to take a break from hosting 'The Daily Show' for a few months. But he's not going on a vacation: he's going to direct a movie. 'Rosewater' will not only be Stewart's first time behind the camera, it will be something completely out of his regular wheelhouse.

If you guessed that Stewart would make his big screen directorial debut with a political comedy in the vein of his television work, you'd be half right -- 'Rosewater' certainly sounds political, but it also sounds like it'll be pretty short on laughs. The film is an adaptation of the 2011 nonfiction book 'Then They Came For Me,' which tells the story of a British journalist who was arrested and tortured while covering the 2009 Iranian elections. Here's the official synopsis of the book:

When Maziar Bahari left London in June 2009 to cover Iran’s presidential election, he assured his pregnant fiancée, Paola, that he’d be back in just a few days, a week at most. Little did he know, as he kissed her good-bye, that he would spend the next three months in Iran’s most notorious prison, enduring brutal interrogation sessions at the hands of a man he knew only by his smell: Rosewater.

It sounds like dark stuff for one of TV's great comedians, but it also sounds like a story that would be right up his alley. Although Stewart is know for finding humor in American and world politics, he's also been lauded for being a better and more honest journalist than most of the "professionals" over at CNN and Fox News. 'The Daily Show' has given us years of Stewart the funnyman, but 'Rosewater' looks like it will give him a chance to stretch some new creative muscles.

According to Deadline, Stewart will take twelve weeks off this summer to shoot the film, leaving hosting duties to regular contributor John Oliver. The thought of three months of 'The Daily Show' without Stewart is odd, but if anyone can fill his shoes, its Oliver, who has emerged as one of funniest correspondents since Stephen Colbert (and look where he is now). This could be Stewart's next big moment...but it could also be Oliver's.

What do you think? Are you ready to see Jon Stewart make a dramatic film? And will you watch 'The Daily Show' with John Oliver hosting?